The Calm Before the Storm
by ghostlylaughter
Summary: We pick up after the events of Project Lightning Bug, where Ral Zarek has decided that he and Jace should band together to improve their planeswalking ability and acumen, much to Jace's reluctance. What begins as an experiment gone wrong blossoms into an adventure that neither expected to take, unexpectedly providing them both with moments of healing and discovery.


**Chapter 1  
The Calm Before the Storm**

Ral looked out upon Ravnica like a storm cloud hovering suggestively above. Pacing back and forth, he surveyed the many spires and towers forming the Tenth District's jagged and unpredictable landscape from the top of Nivix. Ironically, every bit of it was predictable to him. He knew every peak and crenellation and how to guide his power through and between each structure. Each Guildgate held within its' domain no possibility he hadn't fathomed. And yet, at the center of the city stood an improbability so great, he could hardly stand to think of it; that sanctum - or armory - from which the Living Guildpact had emerged, Azor's Forum.

Idly sending sparks between his fingers as he perched upon the rooftop, he shivered in the breeze. The air was dry and wintry, perfect for conducting electricity.

Just entertaining the thought of Jace Beleren quieting the thunder of Niv-Mizzet the Firemind was enough to send him into a volley of questions. Even the Firemind could not contend with the Guildpact's dominance. Ral Zarek ran his hands through his hair as he thought, the wind catching his white streaked locks and turning them. He remembered how Jace had entered his mind, and the minds of all of the fighting guildmages at the center of the forum. They had been ready to cast the Supreme Verdict and destroy Ravnica through the chaotic vying for dominance. But, Jace's voice had rung like a bell, clear and determined, through their thoughts, "Become One," it had chimed. Just like that, their minds had fused, and the fighting ceased. Jace Beleren had controlled their minds, yes, but the unity they experienced had been pure and unexpected. It had saved Ravnica from destruction.

And, it had changed Ral Zarek.

He had wanted nothing more than to defy the Living Guildpact and usurp his power. Yet, now something stopped him. A sudden change in the wind had caused Ral to pause and calculate more carefully what he needed from Jace Beleren. He had decided to defend Beleren, and for a reason he did not entirely understand, he had even lied to his master. What had taken ahold of him? Looking into the reflective glass orbs that were Niv-Mizzet's eyes just a week ago atop Nivix, he had steeled himself against the great dragon. But, deep down he knew that Niv-Mizzet could see the storm churning inside him, and was only waiting for the lightning to strike.

He watched as drakes whipped by on the breeze, biting at each other's tails and leaving trails of smoke in their wake. Watching them, he suddenly felt very alone. Sitting up suddenly, he straightened his back and stretched his arms upward towards the sky, breathing in deeply.

'It's my nature to be alone,' he thought.

The crackling breeze, ready to catch a spark at any moment, passed over him, and cold air filled his lungs. Drawing his breath in deeply, he flicked a switch on his gauntlet and cranked one of the knobs up a notch. Fixing his gold filigree mask over his nose and mouth, he breathed in deeply once more, and this time, his lungs filled with a sharp, static cluster of energy. Immediately his gaze sharpened like that of a wise Aven, his ears piqued to sounds he previously had tuned out. The surge of electric energy started to snake through his body, reaching it's streamers down his arms and legs. Closing his eyes, he focused inward, where a storm inhabited every cell of his being. He was the eye of the storm, the very center that a massive vortex of energy pooled around and down inward. Just as he couldn't bear the immense pressure a moment longer, he opened his eyes and let out a roar, which was drowned out by a torrent of lightning that stabbed down from the clouds gathered above him. Spiking down like swords falling from the skies, they formed a lattice of light around him in a protective circle. He exhaled, a veil of mist falling around him from the clouds above.

—

Jace gazed out the high, arched window in the hall from which he toiled as Ravnica's Living Guildpact. Out the window, the air seemed electrically charged and dense. Roiling clouds seemed to shift endlessly in the sky above. He wondered if Ravnica's intense weather was natural today, or if this was the result of the Storm Mage's powers as usual.

'If it is the Storm Mage,' he mused, 'he must be in a bad mood tonight.'

The hall was a testament to Azorius sensibility, it's style severe and imposing. It was decided that the seat of the Guildpact should be in the Azorius guild's law keeping halls to give Jace a facade to match his nearly unbelievable title.

'Keeper of all peace in Ravnica,' he thought with a derisive snort,'Azor willing.'

Even he was reeling from the shock of ascending to such a position in just a few moments of seemingly divine intervention. Azor's forum had venerated him to near god-hood status, and granted him the ability to counter any decisive effort from a power-hungry guild. Beleren could, provided he did not planeswalk away from Ravnica for too long, keep the peace between the diverse factions that always seemed to be at each other's throats. And, yet, a certain guild had continued to pursue dominance right under his nose; The Izzet guild never seemed to stop researching and experimenting to find new ways to irritate Jace personally. Niv-Mizzet had been attempting to expose the phenomenon of planeswalking, without knowing it, using the particularly clever Storm Mage as head researcher on the project. But, Ral Zarek had sabotaged Project Lightning Bug to protect Jace, and his self. Jace's thoughts lingered on Zarek's face, remembering the odd expression of both distress and relief there as he had entrusted him with the secret that he, too, was a Planeswalker.

Strangely, as he thought on Ral Zarek's face, he found he could remember little details, like how Ral's eyes were a particular shade of white blue that flashed like lightning when he spoke. At that thought, Jace paused and touched his cheek. His face was flushed, and his cheeks warm.

'What the hell,' he thought, trying to cast the feelings aside.

Ever since that night he and Zarek had walked through the dark alleys around the Boros guild together, conversing in secret, the man had popped into his mind from time to time. Ral was the first person who had listened to Jace empathetically in a long time, and that affected him in ways he didn't realize until now. It wasn't the same with Liliana; the dark figment that haunted Jace still. When Liliana listened, it was to gain something from the information; as if she was cataloguing his memories to use later. For what purpose, Jace didn't want to fathom. He had seen what she was able to do with just a few. He was tired of other's seeing him as means to an end. But, at least, he thought, he was needed, and could help people.

Thinking back to the Infinite Consortium, he had so much to atone for... When he began to think on it, a huge wave of suppression began to wash over the memories, covering them in a dense feeling of guilt that eroded them and left him feeling empty again.

Jace didn't want to think about the person he used to be, and the people he used to keep in his company.

Gathering his notes and scrolls from the day, and hastily shuffling piles of ink stained paper together, he prepared to leave.

—

Inside a laboratory full of glass bulbs of all shapes and sizes, and mazes of copper pipes, sat an over-thinking and perplexed Storm Mage. He was absolutely at his wits end with his current project. Rubbing at his temples, he unconsciously generated sparks that made his hair stand on end. His mind couldn't stop turning over the events of the Dragon's Maze and what had followed thereafter, and it was distracting him from his work. He needed to do something about it.

Sitting back in his chair, he clutched a glass jar of steaming hot Khariva to his chest, a delicacy he imported from Kaladesh that was known to wake up the mind and body. He sipped at it, letting the earthy sweet aroma wash over his senses. Normally this scent could tame him in a state of agitation, but he found that still he yearned for a solution. The Living Guildpact was the only other Planeswalker that Zarek knew of, and the only one who knew his secret. He exchanged the jar of hot Khariva for a bulb off his desk and within seconds it had popped from the tension, sprinkling his hand with glass shards. He tipped them into a tall pile of shattered bulbs and stood up decisively. Jace Beleren owed him... well, something! for the secret he kept, and he would take advantage of that fact. He grabbed his finest (slightly lint and debris-ridden, and charred in places) coat and rushed out the door, leaving an experiment sparking dangerously in his wake.

—

The Guildpact was just gathering the last of his things in order to leave for the day when there was a resounding clatter outside his doors. He looked up, confused, and made towards them. When he reached the door and touched the handle, his hand was met with a sharp and powerful shock.  
He yelped in surprise and quickly withdrew his hand.

The door flew open.

Jace used the little clairvoyance he had left after the shock to stumble back just in time to avoid being hit by the door. In the doorway stood the Storm Mage, looking resolute and defiant, albeit a bit frazzled. His hair stood on end in places, like a static-charged sock had been rubbed on his head.

Ral looked Jace up and down.

"Is this is bad time, Guildpact?" He attempted to disguise a hint of amusement behind a stern expression, but Jace knew it was there.

"The door handle…" Jace stammered, "I did not foresee it!"

"Hm. Nor did I, Guildpact. It's not in the nature of electricity to be predicted," replied Zarek.

He shrugged and proceeded through the foyer towards Jace's arbitration solar.

'How presumptuous can he be?' thought Beleren, shaking off his surprise and attempting to assume an air of authority and importance in response. He shrugged back his shoulders and called out to Zarek once they were in the quietude of his solar, a little louder than necessary.

"What is this about, Storm Mage? I've nearly cleared my head of the day and you come… Well, storming in."

He furrowed his brow and took the opportunity to scan Zarek's body while he was turned away. Ral wore his guild's colors, a rich navy blue striped with ruby reds. He wore thick, loosely fitted pants tucked into high leather and suede boots that were heeled and toed in metal. He had on a brilliant double breasted sapphire vest that appeared soft to the touch, copper buttons shining, with his crimson neck scarf tucked down across his chest like a cravat. The neck scarf was characteristically stained with oil spots and perhaps sweat, a pair of heavy-duty metal goggles hanging down over it with red tinted lenses. This man knew his looks commanded attention, and dressed accordingly. Jace wasted no time taking advantage of that fact.

"I would actually prefer for our conversation to not be overheard, Guildpact," Zarek said in a subdued tone.

He turned to meet Jace's eyes.

"I wanted to remind you about a favor that I performed for you just a short while ago, Beleren," he said, stepping towards Jace.

"Oh, I thought I repaid that favor by saving Ravnica from you," replied Jace, like a cat flicking it's tail.

Ral looked slightly taken aback, if not amused.

"Ah. It seems, however, that you forget that I am _continuing_ to do this favor for you," Ral returned. "In fact I could choose at any moment to stop protecting you." _'Shit, shit, shit,' Ral thought, 'Why am I threatening him right now? This is not how I wanted this conversation to go!'_

Not waiting for any further explanation, Jace plunged his fingers into Zarek's mind to ascertain the reason behind his visit. He didn't feel like being toyed with this afternoon. Didn't feel like arguing any more today. His irises and pupils began to glow a bright white, like lighthouses blinking on. He reached towards Zarek's thoughts -

-And suddenly his body was electrified with a sensation much like his hand on the door handle. Except, unlike the shock his body received, his whole mind lit up with a burst of raw static charge. Quickly withdrawing his magical reach, he gasped, eyes returning to normal. He doubled over, reeling from the blast of electricity. He wasn't used to that.

Zarek's eyes, however, now glowed an electric blue, and sparks flecked his white-streaked hair.

"Don't you think it's a little rude to enter my mind without…" he rumbled, "my consent?"

"I don't usually need consent," Jace said through gritted teeth.

"Well, that's certainly a habit you'll need to work on around me," Ral admonished, his eyes returning to a light, soft blue, "Because you'll be owing me a bit of your time, Guildpact. Do you think you can make time in your busy schedule?"

He brushed wayward ash off his velveteen vest.

"Now, let's talk civilized, shall we?"

Jace's body tingled as the last of the electricity left his body.

He could make time.

—

The Living Guildpact had suggested this was a conversation best had outside the gates of Azorius in case being seen talking to the Storm Mage implicated himself. Naturally, Ral Zarek had suggested his own laboratory, which was tucked away in the heart of the Izzet guild, surrounded by inexplicable noises and muffled explosions. Any Izzet guildmember would be too busy wrapped up in their own experimentations to notice the Storm Mage leading a shorter, plainer man through the maze of boilers and machines. At least that's what he hoped. Zarek figured Jace Beleren, the most powerful illusion mage across multiple planes, could produce a simple glamour spell strong enough to trick most prying eyes.

Night began to fall in Ravnica, and several moons in various phases shone down on the bustling megalopolis. Lights all over the Izzet guild flickered on like lightning bugs emerging in swarms. A vast system of spell-fortified glass tubes snaking their way throughout the many laboratories, factories, and private chambers of the Izzet pumped red and blue mana constantly, glowing brightly all the while. The sight was intoxicating. Jace felt the presence of so much raw, flowing mana energizing and awakening him. Electric lights were strung between every archway and through every metallic, echoing passageway, dancing in Jace's vision, and all manner of wild sounds floated from half shattered or charred windows. As they ascended through the separate layers of buildings, built one on top of the other in an intricately stacked pile, Jace could look down upon the entirety of the guild. Some structures were made entirely of glass panes fitted together with metal framework, like alchemical green houses, and he peered inside as they passed above. He shook his head, amused, as he noted an Izzet goblin watching proudly as an automaton finished assembling itself.  
"This guild never sleeps, does it?" asked Jace rhetorically.

"And nor do I, Guildpact," Zarek replied, a touch of giddiness lining his words. "There is always something new to be discovered… Or invented!"

Jace rolled his eyes and followed the Storm Mage up a flight of ornate metal stairs strung with red and blue lights burning brightly in the night. Up and up they climbed, seemingly into the clouds. Jace was panting by the time they reached the top. He clutched at his side, holding onto the railing with one hand. Before them stood Zarek's lab, in a tower which seemed to float above the rest of the guild. It's exterior was a shining, intricate web of metal flourishes, that Jace realized were curved to look like lightning.

"Please, Guildpact, make yourself comfortable," said Zarek, welcoming Jace into his tower with a cocksure little smile.

Ral opened the door to the most intricately arranged chaos Jace had ever seen. Chambers attached the walls filtered into pipes, which intersected and connected, snaking across the ceiling. They managed to avoid the endless work shelves lined with experimental materials that overflowed from every corner. Huge skylights shone with the twinkling night sky above, one propped open just a bit to allow excess steam to find exit. Ral's work-table was massive and made of smooth, handworked metal that boasted an array of fine tuning instruments built into it. A complicated and seemingly forgotten looking machine whirred and hummed in the middle of the desk, glowing a faint purplish white. Honestly, Jace was impressed. Whatever hot air he thought constituted the majority of Ral's brain was clearly… Well, probably thoughts. Fairly complex thoughts at that.

Inside, Jace could not find a place to sit. Every surface was covered with half-assembled baubles and rare trinkets. Jace spied from afar a Winter Orb resting precariously upon a pile of charred journals and tomes. He shivered, thinking of the last time he had been forced to use one.

—

"So, who has the bigger dragon's hoard, Storm Mage," quipped Jace, "You or Niv-Mizzet?"

Ral began pushing piles off of surfaces and miraculously uncovered a very fine plush seat for Jace.

"We have been embroiled in that conflict for quite some time, Mind Mage," said Zarek solemnly, peeking at Jace as he carefully took a seat.  
He closed the door and made to find a seat as well, but instead took a brief moment to watch Jace as he examined the many trinkets littered about his feet.

Beleren had shed his official Guildpact regalia to assume a less obvious persona and had of course set an illusion upon himself to go undetected. Anyone looking at Jace would see a short, built man with a blond beard and comely nose, perhaps part dwarvish. But upon entering Ral's lab, he had promptly dropped his illusion, as if shaking off a coat and hanging it up on the rack before getting comfortable. His brown hair fell down past his brow, spiky and tousled. He wore dark blue wyvernskin gloves that he was removing unconsciously while peering inquisitively down at various clutter. He was transfixed with Ral's many toys, and Ral was transfixed watching Jace pick them up with long, elegant fingers.

A small glass kettle began shrieking loudly at that moment and Zarek, ran to quiet it, adjusting knobs and kicking a copper tank that gurgled on the ground. Nothing he could do would quiet the kettle and it continued to shriek, so he grabbed it and tossed it out an open window. The distant sound of a goblin crying out in pain floated up towards the window from far below moments later. He leaned against the wall and smoothed out his vest nonchalantly. If you could call that nonchalant.

"So, Beleren," Ral cleared his throat. "The reason I've asked you here—"

"Expecting I will share with you some mysterious insights into planeswalking?" Jace finished, an unreadable expression clinging to his lips.

"—To repay me for—" Ral continued on.

"—Selfishly covering your own ass from Niv-Mizzet's fire," Interrupted Jace again, "while you conveniently seem to help me out?"

This time it was Jace who looked up to meet Ral's eyes with a defiant smirk.

"Do you really think you're that unpredictable?" finished Jace, turning the Winter Orb in his hands.

The Storm Mage faced his metal worktable, which was laden with delicate glass filaments. He picked up a bulb at random and idly stared at the coils, avoiding Jace's glare. It exploded with a tiny storm inside and promptly popped. Ral sighed and brushed the shards into the pile once more. It tortured him that Jace thought his actions were entirely selfish, even though he himself had never considered they could be anything otherwise. An odd sensation tugged at his chest and he turned to face Jace.

"Contrary to whatever you may think, my actions weren't entirely selfish," Ral countered confidently. "I didn't want either of us to be exposed. I figured it would be drastic for the living Guildpact to be caught away from his plane." He faltered slightly.

He made towards a creaky looking chair, then seemed to change his mind, and resolved to merely pace.

 _'Does he ever stop moving?' thought Jace._

"So, get to the point… Why did you ask me here?" Jace asked directly, growing tired of Zarek's games.

"Well, I wasn't sure there even were others like me, let alone IN Ravnica…" He trailed off momentarily.

Here he faltered… He didn't want to reveal to Jace that he had actually broken into Jace's library and read his private journals during his research of the Implicit Maze.

"Uh… Until Project Lightning Bug's findings, that is," he finished awkwardly.

He ran his fingers through his hair, which was mostly jet-black, but marked with lightning bright streaks of white.

Jace sighed exasperatedly.

"As you know, Niv-Mizzet does not yet know of this fact. I thought that withholding certain information from them might grant us an advantageous situation…" Ral finished, with a flourishing gesture of his hand, the other propping his head up.

Just then, a contraption that Jace noticed had been whirring and emitting a small shower of gold sparks steadily since he had arrived, now started popping and hissing erratically. Ral began cursing in a language of numbers and terms that Jace did not understand and ran over to quiet it. The contraption's spinning golden rings began tipping and clashing, and as they did so, a tiny tear seemed to rip in the fabric of reality in the space around the experiment.

Jace looked from Ral to the machine, sensing that something very dangerous was about to happen.

Not knowing what to do, he thought of planeswalking away, but he didn't want to leave Ral without help. He flailed his hands pointlessly.

The gears had gotten loose, and the rings suddenly collapsed on each other, letting out a burst of potential energy that had been storing with each steady rotation. Jace and Ral were both blown backwards, away from the machine as space and time seemed to contort, rippling and eventually, tearing apart. Ral threw himself in front of Jace to shield him from the blast, grabbing his tunic—

—

Jace awoke to the sound of ocean waves lapping up against the shore and shrill birdcalls in the distance. There was sand in his mouth, and the gritty feeling jarred him awake.

 _'What the hell'_ , he thought, pushing himself up and looking around, panicking just a little. _'What was I doing?'_

It seemed he was on a fog-laden beach painted in soft blue and deep, mysterious grey. He looked around slowly, taking in the odd surroundings. The sand was bone white, and a forest loomed nearby. He blinked. For a moment he was completely lost, no memories surfaced and he felt as he did once before, when everything had been taken from him. He felt like a stone cast into an ocean, sinking to the very bottom… But, then, without warning, a brightly colored memory popped into his head, like a bubble, rising to the surface.

 _Ral's lab-_

The experiment exploding-

Ral!

Swiveling about, he soon caught sight of Ral lying nearby, his back against the sand, his eyes closed as if sleeping peacefully. His clothing had been singed, and a fine layer of soot coated his face.

Jace hurried over, kicking up sand, and knelt down beside him, peering down into his unconscious face.

 _'He could've gotten us both killed! What even was that thing?'_ Jace thought angrily, looking down at the inert mad scientist. _'I should leave him here, planeswalk back to my sanctum, and get this infernal sand out of my shoes.'_

He made to get up, but something stopped him. His thoughts snagged on Ral and he was pulled back, almost involuntarily.

He tried to tear his gaze away from Ral's face, there in the sand. But, he found, he couldn't.

Jace looked away quickly, then down at the man lying on the ground. He knelt down just a bit closer.

The Storm Mage looked serene, and Jace took a moment to memorize his features. The way his nose had a slight hook to it, and his beard was sprinkled with white hairs, even though he couldn't have been more than three decades old.

He considered what Ral's lips would feel like against his own for just a moment, then immediately pushed the thought away.

"What am I thinking?"he exclaimed to himself quietly, shocked at his own caprice. It suddenly dawned on him how inexplicably attracted he was to Ral, unable to stop his eyes poring over his face as he lay, unaware and silent before him.

Jace lowered his face to Ral's and pressed a soft kiss to his mouth, his cheeks hot and flushed. His lips were met with a dull spark.

Ral's eyes fluttered open, recognition slowly lighting up in his eyes, and mixing, beautifully, with sheer and utter confusion.

In that moment, Jace panicked harder than perhaps ever before, dissipating his physical form in a quantum blip so fast, he didn't even pick a destination.

Ral lay in the sand, blinking repeatedly, questioning whether he was awake or not.

 _'What the hell?' he thought, feverishly._

 _End Chapter 1_


End file.
